cringe
v.v. to feel awkward or embarrassed because something seems old-fashioned, silly, or socially inappropriate. You use this when a moment makes you want to hide.
v. to feel or express acute embarrassment or discomfort at something perceived as socially awkward, outdated, or in poor taste. Often used intransitively with 'at' or 'for'.
I cringe when I hear my old songs.
She cringed at the awkward silence during the interview.
Viewers often cringe at the dated fashion choices in early 2000s reality television, finding the styles painfully out of step with modern aesthetics.
The verb is derived from Middle English crengen (“to bend in a haughty manner; to condescend”) [and other forms], from Old English crenċan, crenċġan, crenġan (“to cause to fall or turn”), the causative of crinċġan (“to yield; to cringe; to fall; to die, perish”), from Proto-Germanic krangijaną (“to cause to fall; to cause to turn”), from Proto-Germanic kringaną, krinkaną (“to fall; to turn; to yield”) (from Proto-Indo-European grenǵʰ- (“to turn”)) + -janą (suffix forming causatives with the sense ‘to cause to do (the action of the verb)’ from strong verbs). The English word is cognate with Danish krænge (“to turn inside out, evert”), Dutch krengen (“to careen, veer”) and Dutch kring (“circle”), Scots crenge, creenge, creinge, crienge (“to cringe; to shrug”), Swedish kränga (“to careen; to heel, lurch; to toss”), and West Frisian kringe (“to pinch; to poke; to push; to insist, urge”); and is a doublet of crinkle. The noun and adjective are derived from the verb via zero derivation.
Intransitive verb; commonly followed by 'at' or 'for' to indicate the source of embarrassment.